


Minor Domestics

by wanderNavi



Series: tiny ships in the shadow of the behemoth [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, very much inspired by my suite's panicked apartment hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 10:26:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15604278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderNavi/pseuds/wanderNavi
Summary: Robin and Frederick move house.





	Minor Domestics

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually have experience with apartment hunting for real because so far, I've looked at rents and then chickened out of moving off campus.

“I’ll still be your chief advisor.”

“Of course.”

“We’re just moving out of the castle, but not too far away.”

“Right.”

“We just need more room.”

“Robin, you and Frederick have reassured me about your house hunting countless times over the last few weeks. I’m starting to feel like I’m the one moving, not you.”

Marc tugged on the back of her coat. “Okay, right, just, gods, we haven’t even found a place yet.”

Amusement danced over Chrom’s face as he said, “I’m sure you’ll find one eventually.”

Robin lifted her youngest son up into her arms and sighed. “At least you’re confident about it.”

* * *

Frederick’s quarters didn’t have accommodating a family in mind. When Robin moved in, there was still room for weaving around each other in the mornings. Her books started crowding out the tabletop, but they could shift the stacks around when they needed more space. Frederick also ferried the books back into Ylisstol’s library when she finished a copy but forgot to return it.

They didn’t intend to come back home from a march with a teenaged son from the future.

With rearrangement, they fit another bed into Frederick’s suite. The books multiplied. Frederick found coats draped over chairs and on beds in abundance, needle and thread still attached, mid mend.

The day this timeline’s Cynthia is born, Morgan mused, “Maybe I should start a small garden for the princess.”

“Please don’t give the newborn flowers,” Frederick said back over the breakfast.

“No, I meant for my timeline. Though that might be a good idea for the queen. Thanks father!”

“Don’t leave any flowers in the nursery,” he called out the door as Morgan dashed off.

Robin was already off in council meetings. Frederick finished the morning duties and would soon need to depart for the training grounds. Morgan was … doing something that day.

Morgan decided to start the small garden in their tiny kitchen.

“Oh.” Robin gazed at the soil dusting the floor and the seed packets scattered on the counter. “Maybe not _in_ the kitchen dear? We can build a box to hang outside the window though and grow the plants there.”

Frederick came back to wood shavings added to the mess. With a sigh, he pulled out the broom and dustpan while Robin and Morgan sat on the counter, half hanging out the window, poking seeds into soil.

* * *

Then Marc – “No, I’m not naming my child the same as his future counterpart Chrom, I have no idea how you and Sumia keep track of which Lucina you’re calling for” – was born.

Morgan rocked the crib set up by his bed. “Huh, so this is what I looked like when I was a baby.” He scrunched his nose. “This is kinda weird.”

Robin gave a noncommittal hum, exhaustedly flipping through meeting minutes and draft legislation Frederick brought her. “As it tends to be.”

“Don’t let the castle’s cats into here,” Frederick said from where he restocked the hearth with logs.

“Oooh, pets.”

“ _No, Morgan_.”

* * *

(There’s a few years that Frederick didn’t talk about often, when his room felt too cold and the stacks of books exploded in number with Morgan’s frantic searching. Chrom was often away, sometimes paired with Lissa, searching in one direction with Sumia looking in the other, both combing up and down the land. Frederick alternated accompanying between the two parties. When Morgan and the books both cleared out from the suite for long periods, Lucina revealed to Frederick where his son went into the witching hours of the night.

“He’s in the library, driving the librarians up the wall with how many candles he’s using up.”

He didn’t clean out the living space as much when the neatness starts feeling unnatural.)

* * *

Frederick could barely walk through his living room. Morgan’s friends are crowded around the table, drinks set precariously between board pieces. Laughter filled the air.

Robin looked up when Frederick finally made it into their bedroom.

“They’re avoiding taking care of their younger counterparts for today,” she explained.

“And Morgan invited them all to our place?”

She grinned. “Can you imagine the servants coming here to call on them?”

No, he couldn’t. With a sigh, Frederick hung up his armor.

“Come over here.” Robin patted the bed besides her and waved the loose papers in her hands to him. “I’m looking for apartments or houses nearby we can move into. Marc and Morgan are going to need proper bedrooms soon. And we need more bookshelves.”

Oh. More space. He picked up the top sheet from her pile.

“No, no. Where did you get this from, it’s obviously a scam. Toss it out.”

Laughing, Robin flicked the balled-up flier into the rubbish bin.

* * *

“Can you believe that there are so few houses close to the castle that meet Frederick and my requirements?” Robin complained to Sumia while they both watch Marc and little Cynthia running through the gardens.

“House search not going well?”

“No, no it’s not.” The spring sun warmed the marble benches. A sweet smell wafted off the flowering trees, along with all the pollen. Lissa was bringing Owain down soon as well. “I don’t like how cold stone gets during the winter, but Frederick rather not take the fire risks wood brings. That’s one issue. Morgan and Marc can benefit from having different bedrooms rather than being crammed together, especially in a few years when Marc hits adolescence. And further space for a kitchen and all our books is tricky. Both Frederick and I need to be able to arrive at the castle early still for our duties, so the living space can’t be too far away. But the finances!”

“Any way Chrom and I can help?” Sumia asked amused.

“Not really,” Robin admitted. “We’ve been going through listings in our free time and looking at prospects is something we’ll have to do in person. If this continues being so difficult though, we may have to look into purchasing a plot of land to build a house ourselves. That may need some assistance.”

“I believe in you Robin.”

“Mother! Mother!” Marc thrusted a fistful of flowers into Robin’s lap. “Look!”

She lifted him onto the bench besides her. Cynthia also crawled up, eager to show off their spoils. “These are beautiful, Marc. But you didn’t overly damage the garden, did you?”

“Nuh!”

“Fortunes, mother, fortunes!”

Sumia laughed. “Alright, what do you want to know?”

* * *

Morgan went on trips with his peers, racing off on horseback and coming home weeks later with souvenirs and trinkets. He accompanied Lucina on charting Ylisse and challenging the arenas of Ferox. With Nah, he clambered over mountains and through sacred forests. With others, to theatres, to across the ocean.

He handed the hexagonal board over to Robin. “I found this on my last trip. It’s like our battle simulation games but built for three players. Thought it would be great for incorporating Marc with us.”

“Three players?” Robin inspected the stained in triangles. “Interesting. We’d need to get a third set of pieces for him though.”

“Got those too.” Morgan dug through his travel bag and pulled out a pouch. “Though we’ll have to carve some specialty pieces for our rules.”

She sets the board with their other games and carved pieces. There’s predominantly wood miniatures lining the shelf with glazed clay scattered in the ranks, though there are a few metal pieces courtesy of Virion and a single polished ivory pegasus knight. She closed the cabinet with a snap.

“Any new tomes out west?”

“Sorry, too expensive to bring back.”

“Hm … How do you feel about helping your father and me select somewhere to live?”

* * *

They end up settling on purchasing some land rather than haggle up and down the streets with landlords. On a rare day of quiet – most of the court went off enjoying the countryside with fall coming in, staining the forests in colorful dyes of orange and gold – Robin went banging through town looking for an architect.

She found one in a bar at two a.m., nearing the end of her rope. The architect looked up quizzically from her drink when Robin slammed into the stool next to her. “Is there an easier place to reliably find you? I need help designing a house.”

The architect – “Jules” – shrugged. “Right here is the most reliable place to find me.”

Robin groaned and ordered some ale. They haggled over the commission fee and the couple’s plans and requirements further into the night. Eventually Robin came out of the bar at the closing time triumphant.

She staggered into bed, stirring Frederick briefly awake.

“Mmm?”

“We got a house,” she said and promptly dropped into sleep.

* * *

Jules does good on her words though and handles the coordination between carpenters and brick masons. Most of the current furniture also goes into the new house. But it won’t be enough to fill all the space and new rooms.

“Bookcases,” was the first thing Robin puts down on the list.

“And a cabinet for the game pieces,” Morgan pointed out.

Robin frowned at the list. “Anything else?”

Frederick gently took the sheet of paper out of Robin’s hand and started listing out the other practical furniture the family would need such as desks, sofas, and window boxes for Morgan’s aggressively expanding garden. With the family not living in the castle anymore, they’d need a fuller set of kitchen appliances to cooks meals otherwise provided by the castle cooks.

“Metal countertops? Really?”

“Easier to clean.” Frederick glanced over at Marc’s haphazard experiments precariously clustered on the table. “Easier to protect than stone as well.” All too recently, corrosive compounds ate through stone and wood in the magical conservatories. Miriel reported on the incident with distaste but admitted it as a regular occurrence. To have such accidents in the new house?

Robin followed Frederick’s gaze. “Ah, right. Metal then.”

He reviewed the sheet.

“Just how many books are you planning on keeping?”

* * *

Chrom came with Frederick to inspect the new house. As well as about half the old guard Shepherds – those who were in the area. Robin didn’t call for a housewarming party, but gifts flowed in anyways, the gathering a party in all but name. Morgan helped pass out meals cooked in the new kitchen.

“Still a bit sparse,” Chrom commented. “But that might be thanks to all the boxes.”

Unluckly for Stahl, Robin roped him into helping pack most of the belongings from Frederick’s old quarters. Most of Robin’s possessions packed into dense boxes of maps, papers, and books. Frederick’s were equally heavy with sets of armor and weaponry kept out of the children’s reach. The wardrobe of thick tunics and ceremonial dress befitting the reigning Exalt’s chief advisor and captain of the guard weighed down other chests. The wardrobe and dresser set themselves were built out of old oak inherited from Frederick’s father. The beds, the tables, the flower beds all dragged out between the couple and Stahl and whoever else Robin could snag.

There was still all the new furniture to pick up from the carpenters as well.

Sully brought display stands for the blades Robin set aside after the war that she didn’t use anymore in her political battle of words. Somehow word reached Donnel and he brought brews stashed away in his village to celebrate. Lissa immediately swept Robin up with trinkets gathered from her travels, the pair immersed in decorating and protecting the displays. Miriel and Ricken brought books for Marc to continue pouring over.

Alcohol flowed merrily and warmly into the night.

* * *

“How do you like your new bedroom?”

Morgan’s bedroom looked out over the gardens and the back lot of the house, though Robin reckoned he wouldn’t get to enjoy the view often. More and more, the wanderlust urges to drift drove him back out onto the road. The family avoided Plegia as a habit, but tabs Robin kept on old allies told her that Morgan visited in greater frequencies, despite misgivings. “Must be the blood calling,” Gaius shrugged in their last rare reunion.

Marc on the other hand, looked out towards the snaking street connecting the house to the rest of the neighborhood block.

“A lot more room! I like it!”

Without war in his formative years, Marc’s interests were veering slightly differently from Morgan’s. Morgan tried to match Robin’s military acclaim. Marc pursued the court politics more, the parrying of pens and the electric jolt of words. He hung more to Robin’s dinner discussions on the current international politics than tales of saving the world from resurrected dragons. The older Laurent and Miriel humored the boy’s visits into their workshops investigating the latest developments for Ylisse. The scrolls, tome binding sets, and alchemy kits scattered across his desks testified to Marc’s revolving door of passion. Moving out of the crowded shared space with Morgan certainly helped organization efforts.

“I’m going to be heading to Ferox for a while. Be good for your father and don’t get too absorbed in experimentation, alright?”

Marc squirmed in Robin’s embrace. “When will you take me with you?”

“When you’re a bit older. And you’ll need to get better at riding a horse.”

She laughed at the face he made.

* * *

Gaius held his hands up, a sweet in each one. Frederick glared at the man’s feet propped on the dining table.

“Bubbles invited me over.”

“Robin’s all the way in Chon’sin right now, try again.”

“She really did.” Gaius flicked a fruit bar into his mouth and chewed. “While back though. Was in the middle of something, so couldn’t come immediately. But I’m here now. She wanted tips on the house’s defense.”

“And who better to ask. Get your boots off the table, we eat there.”

 _Thud, thunk_. Gaius ate the other piece and offered the platter at large to Frederick. “Want some?”

“Why shouldn’t I turn you in right now to Cordelia?”

“Then who will tell Bubbles the weaknesses in her family’s house and help protect her sons? Won’t be me if I’m in chains. When will she be back by the way?”

“In a few weeks,” Marc pipped up from the stairway.

Frederick didn’t catch Gaius whisking the platter, tarts and all, into some hidden pouch or compartment. The thief stood and sauntered to the front door. “I’ll be back then.”

The door closed after him with a gentle muffled click.

“Sorry for not noticing he was here, father.”

“No, not your fault. Gaius is a professional at what he does. For whatever good that constitutes. I should still warn Chrom to watch the coffers though.”

* * *

“Exalt Chrom, are you hiding in my house?”

Chrom held up a wrapped bulky package. “I brought your parents a gift?”

Marc inherited a potent mix of Robin and Frederick’s disappointed stares. Chrom knows for a fact that Robin finds the image of her son nestled in an armchair curled around a book endearing, but Chrom hasn’t felt so vaguely menaced by an adolescent in some time.

“Is this about what Cynthia mentioned to me about the Pegasi pastures? _Are you hiding from the queen?_ ”

“Can’t a man visit his friends’ house?”

“ _You know my mother meets with the queen frequently in this very house to read books together_.”

* * *

“If Morgan and Marc move out, this house will get quiet.”

“This house and family, quiet? Wouldn’t that be a change.”

**Author's Note:**

>  _“…I’m not naming my child…”_ – Technically, this one shot is part of a greater series, hence the pairings, but that series won’t see the light of the internet for a while. I’ve always found Yarne’s concern over getting erased from the timeline and the similar sentiments seen in other children supports somewhat amusing. Isn’t the point of such a fix it time travel tactic to drastically alter the past from the events that shaped their characters and experiences? It’s hardly the same timeline anymore, intrinsically due to the act of traveling to the past. Marc and Morgan will not be the same person. It’s impossible, even if by the miracle of narrative logic, chance makes Marc Morgan’s genetic clone. 
> 
> What’s the point of time traveling back from a catastrophe if you don’t aggressively try to push events away from what you remember happening?
> 
>  _“… battle simulation games but built for three players…”_ – Nintendo, just call it chess. There are novelty sets that allow for games with more than two players. The boards for three players are surprisingly varied and the Wikipedia pages does give a good overview. I went with hexagonal since it seemed easier to create and transport than some of the odder shapes out there or something like ThinkGeek’s circular board. The rules for three – or more – players are different from two players due to balancing difficulties brought on by alliances. Two players can gang up on the third. There are other adjustments too probably, to accommodate for the changed shapes of the “squares.” 
> 
> Robin’s “chess” is also different since she’s doing this as a stricter representation of her real life military units from what I gathered. The pieces are less abstract as in chess and the movements, rules, and starting configurations are probably different too to let her run through simulations. 
> 
> _“Metal countertops…”_ – Bear with me for a moment and believe Ylisse has stainless steel metal. After all, these are people who have found ways to make silver a top tier metal to smith weapons out of. In reality, silver is a terrible metal to use – too soft if I remember correctly. Inspiration for metal over stone, such as granite, comes from one of my friends who cooks far more proficiently than I do. It’s easy to wipe clean and you can prepare ingredients directly on the sanitized surface.


End file.
